VANCOUVER – Three men accused of participating in a gang-related massacre of six people at an apartment building in 2007 have had their trial moved to Vancouver next month.
Associate Chief Justice Austin Cullen recently moved the Sept. 16 trial of Cody Rae Haevischer, Mathew Johnston and Quang Vinh Thang Le from suburban New Westminster, citing “the efficiency of the trial and the ability to control its process.”
Jamie Bacon, one of three brothers who police have linked to Vancouver’s gang war and who was also charged in the case, will be tried separately, although no date has yet been set.
Brock Maitland, Johnston’s lawyer, said defence counsel applied to change the location because the trial will be conducted without a jury and by Justice Catherine Wedge, who maintains her chambers in Vancouver.
“The defendants’ lawyers are all in Vancouver, and for them, it’s a much better situation to be defending a case that’s here, instead of commuting back and forth every day for this long trial,” he said, adding Bacon’s case is based out of Vancouver, too.
Maitland said the trial could last as long as one year and be one of the longest in the province’s history.
He said concerns over security were not a factor because New Westminster has hosted high-profile trials in the past, including the trial of serial killer Robert Pickton.
Crown spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the decision to change the venue was made for “administrative” reasons.
Maitland said most of the defendants have about three lawyers each, he added, and the Crown may have as many as 10 for the upcoming trial.
The killings, known as the “Surrey Six” murders, occurred Oct. 19, 2007, and police have previously said four of the victims were targeted.
But 22-year-old Chris Mohan, a resident of the residential tower, and 55-year-old Ed Schellenberg, a maintenance worker, were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Dennis Karbovanec pleaded guilty in April 2009 to three counts of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the slayings.
Four Mounties involved in the investigation are also facing criminal charges that are related to allegations one of them had an inappropriate relationship with a witness.
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